A High Life
For most of the year, Society sat at home and attended to normal life. This would include "work" (for one did have an estate to run), rest, probably a good deal of charity work. For certain, Society probably didn't enjoy spending their time in some drafty old house in muddy, rainy, cold Yorkshire, but they realized the importance of their role in the affairs of the neighborhood: and this is by no means meant facetiously. It was the duty of the neighborhood gentry to work for the poor, to visit sick villagers, to bring leftovers to those unable to afford food (The Duchess of Marlborough revolutionized this practice, by separating the food instead of throwing it all into one container.)

Explore: Society's home

This was not, however, the most exciting way many aristocrats could imagine living, and frequently there were no social equals in the neighborhood. As a result, travel was frequent, to visit friends spread out all over Britain. The "house party," an extended gathering of friends, was a popular pastime.

Explore:The House Party

This, however, was only to tide a person over until the real fun began: the Season. The entire calendar of Society revolved around the Season. The Season is just as hard to define as Society is, although it is definitely a more tangible notion. In its most basic definition, the Season was "a brilliant succession of festivities," (Balsan, pg. 71) a time when anyone who was anyone came to London for a couple months of parties, activities, and events, which had no set dates but would always happen at the same time and in the same place.

Explore: The Season

Although outwardly the Season was about parties, it was actually about politics: there is a reason why it revolved around the schedule of Parliament. The men were in town for a specific reason: the management of the government, and this carried over to their wives. Politics was considered to be a wife's business too, except that instead of making speeches in the House, her job was to charm friends and opponents, to throw lavish parties and fund-raisers, and to campaign for her husband. Women were, unlike in America and most other countries, actually supposed to be interested in politics: the entire balcony of the House of Lords was reserved for the wives of politicians, and it was generally packed with people.

The season was, however, still much more than just parties and politics, or even anything tangible. It was "a pageant in which beautiful women and distinguished men performed a stately ritual:" (Balsan, pg. 71) it was, more than anything else, a ritual. Performed year in and year out, it was a celebration of youth, beauty, timeless continuity. The Season was about stability: every day followed the same pattern, every year held the same events. In a world of change, of collapsing rents and an upstart middle class, it was nice to know that there would always be a tiny little pocket of life that could never be touched by outsiders.

Next: The Great Depression